A two-hour edition of Survivor: Island of the Idols airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.
Lairo returns to camp after tribal council. Noura admits she voted for Jack because someone told her to. Jamal wants to know, but Noura does not want to reveal the name as Kellee is sitting there with the group. Jamal keeps asking Noura and puts pressure on her to reveal the name, and Noura finally admits that Kellee asked her to vote for Jack. Jamal and Janet are stunned. Kellee is unhappy that Noura threw her under the bus. Kellee pulls Jamal and Janet away to explain her vote since they are supposed to be her allies. Jamal is confused why Kellee thought she could trust Noura with any secret information. In his confessional, Jamal says Kellee was trying to play an under-the-radar game, but it was blown up by trusting Noura. Kellee knows she’s in trouble, so the next morning she goes hunting for a hidden immunity idol. After much searching, Kellee finds a hidden immunity idol.
It’s Day 20 and time for the merge! Both tribes enjoy a feast together, but the talk quickly turns to strategy in separate conversations. The original Vokai members have a numbers advantage, but Tommy wonders if he should pull in some of his new friends into a potential majority. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is hoping she can pull some original Vokai members to work with some of the original Lairo tribe members. Tommy talks game with Janet and Kellee about the possibility of an alliance with nine people. Kellee shuts down that idea right away. She said that would be the wrong plan as that alliance would just benefit the four Lairo members who ended up on the new Vokai tribe. In his confessional, Tommy says he doesn’t appreciate how his ideas are being shot down. He says he plans to work with both original Vokai members and original Lairo members moving forward.
Kellee and Missy talk alone by the beach. They are both bothered how Dan keeps touching the women inappropriately. Kellee doesn’t feel like she can say anything, and Missy says he should be voted out for her mental health. Kellee, Missy, and the other women feel very uncomfortable about Dan touching them. While Kellee is in tears during her confessional discussing Dan, a producer off-camera agrees that it’s not okay what Dan is doing. He says action can be taken, but Kellee is hoping his demeanor will stop. Meanwhile, Tommy and Lauren talk game. Tommy says he is scared of Kellee. He recalls how Kellee said Missy should be voted out, but he notices how the two of them are talking like they’re best friends. Later, Kellee talks to Janet about Dan. Janet says it’s not okay what Dan is doing, and she will keep a close eye and confront him if necessary.
Missy and Elizabeth talk about Dan touching the women, and they are hoping that Dan will be the next one voted out. They also hope Lairo can get numbers on their side after Dan gets voted out. Later, Kellee and Elizabeth talk about Dan. They both feel uncomfortable by his inappropriate touching and agree to vote him out. However, in her confessional, Kellee still wants to vote out Missy instead of Dan for game purposes. Meanwhile, Lauren reveals to Missy how there is a plan to vote out Missy. Lauren also tells Missy that Kellee is in on the plan to vote out Missy. Missy is stunned, especially after her earlier conversation with Kellee. Lauren tells Missy that she and Tommy are still on her side, but Missy is worried that Lauren and Tommy’s votes won’t be enough to save her. Before the commercial break, there is a notice on the screen. We are told producers met with the castaways individually and as a group about personal boundaries. Dan was also given a warning about his behavior, and producers will continue to monitor the situation.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They must hold two handles of a table balancing three balls. If they drop all their balls, then they are eliminated from the challenge. Noura and Kellee are the first two to be eliminated from the challenge. Dean is the next person to drop his three balls. Janet, Elaine, and Lauren are the next three out. They are followed by Dan. Tommy and Aaron are the only ones still with three balls as everyone else remaining has one or two balls gone already. However, Tommy loses his grip and drops the handles, losing all of his balls. He’s out of the challenge. Karishma is the next one eliminated from the challenge. Remaining in the challenge are Missy, Aaron, Jamal, and Elizabeth. Missy is the next one out of the challenge, and she is followed by Elizabeth. It’s now a showdown between Aaron and Jamal with each having two balls remaining. After 25 minutes pass, Jamal drops his handles, sending his balls sliding down the table. Aaron wins immunity!
The castaways return to camp after the immunity challenge. Missy is worried about her fate in the game, but Lauren reassures her that she is on her side. Meanwhile, Tommy and Lauren approach Dean about voting out Kellee. In his confessional, Dean admits he doesn’t think he can vote her out after she saved him with an immunity idol in the prior tribal council. However, Tommy and Lauren manage to get other original Lairo members to agree to vote for Kellee tonight. Meanwhile, Jamal and Noura say they want to vote out Dan tonight. Noura says it’s a simple decision since he has made a lot of the women on the tribe uncomfortable with his behavior. Jamal later talks to Janet about voting out Dan, and she says she is on board with that plan. Janet says it’s a relief since Dan has not made the women on the tribe feel okay. Janet then approaches Elizabeth about voting out Dan. However, in her confessional, Elizabeth believes this is “smoke and mirrors.” She knows there is a plan to vote out Missy tonight. She still plans to vote for Kellee tonight. Later, Elizabeth tells Elaine what Janet told her. Elaine then tells Dan about Janet throwing his name out to bring him on her side. In his confessional, Dan says what Janet is doing is “stupid and reprehensible.” Jamal tells Kellee and Karishma about the plan to vote for Dan, but Kellee is still concerned since Dan seems too calm. As a result, Kellee goes searching for a hidden immunity idol. Meanwhile, Jamal tells Tommy about the plan to vote out Dan tonight. Tommy then talks to Lauren about the vote, wondering if they are the swing votes determining if Dan or Kellee gets voted out tonight. Tommy says it feels good to have a little bit of power, but we next see Kellee find another hidden immunity idol. She’s glad to have two idols in her pocket, and she says she may even use an idol on herself tonight.
It’s Night 22 and time for tribal council. Once again, Rob and Sandra are observing from their secret shack. Jeff asks Dan about the vibe of thirteen people living together. Dan says it’s a game of deception and trust. He thinks trust outweighs deception. Missy agrees that you have to trust since you cannot play completely alone. Karishma adds that sometimes people just talk to get to know each other. Lauren agrees, and she says she felt like people were watching her closely when she was talking to Karishma and Dean about life instead of game. Tommy says there are people he’s known since Day 1, but he just met Karishma and Dean. Jeff asks Dean his thoughts, and he says he is in an interesting spot since people on his original tribe blindsided him last time. He is hoping to build trust. Dan says tonight will show where people really stand. Missy agrees, and she says tonight will show if they are actually good at this game. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
We see Kellee vote for Dan and Dan vote for Kellee. But who will be voted out tonight? Kellee also whispers to Lauren, asking if they’re good. Lauren reassures Kellee that she is good tonight.
Jeff asks if anyone wants to play a hidden immunity idol, but nobody does.
The first vote is for…
Dan
Kellee
Dan
Kellee
Dan
Kellee
Dan
Kellee
Dan
Kellee
Kellee
Kellee
Kellee is voted out and the second member of the jury.
The tribe returns to camp after tribal council. “I guess nobody’s talking, huh?” Janet says. She feels very betrayed on a moral level after everything that was said about Dan’s inappropriate behavior. Tommy and Lauren pull Janet aside, and they admit they voted for Kellee tonight. Janet can’t believe they didn’t vote for Dan after all the talk about his behavior. Lauren says in her confessional that she doesn’t think the things that were said about Dan were enough to vote him out tonight. Later, Janet approaches Dan and tells him that Missy, Elizabeth, and Lauren were crying to her about how he has made them feel uncomfortable. In his confessional, Dan says it’s depressing that anyone would say these things about him. “They played me on your reputation,” Janet tells Dan. Later, Dan talks to Missy and Elizabeth. He apologizes to them and he says the things said about him could ruin his life. Missy reminds Dan that if they felt uncomfortable, then they had the power to vote him out tonight. Missy and Elizabeth backpedal, and Elizabeth says in her confessional that they were joking and the comments about Dan were snowballed out of proportion. Dan tells Missy and Elizabeth that Janet said they cried to her about Dan, and they are stunned. They deny that ever happened.
Dan talks to Janet after his conversation with Missy and Elizabeth. Dan says that they said Janet was lying about what they said about Dan. Janet is floored, and she is ready to confront Elizabeth and Missy. Janet gathers Elizabeth and Missy into a group discussion with Dan and herself. Janet gets Elizabeth to admit that she did tell Janet she was glad Janet was back to protect her from Dan’s behavior. However, Elizabeth reassures Dan that she and him are still fine after Janet walks away. In her confessional, Janet is very bothered by the girls. She doesn’t think sexual harassment isn’t something to be joked about, and she changed her vote for their benefit after the things they said about Dan.
Early the next morning, Janet notices Missy and Aaron wander by in front of her. She slept away from the rest of the tribe, so she doesn’t think they knew she was there in front of them. They walk into the forest, and Janet believes they are idol hunting. Janet then goes searching for a hidden immunity idol, and she finds it. She is emotional in her confessional as she holds the idol. She believes she could be the next target, so she is glad to have the idol in her possession.
Jamal and Karishma talk game together in the forest, and Karishma spots a note hanging from a tree. Jamal grabs it and opens it. He learns he must not open the rest of the note. Instead, he must take it and make his way to the Island of the Idols. He is stunned to see Sandra and Rob greeting him. He says they were the trendsetters of the game. He sits in the shelter with Sandra and Rob and opens the note. The note informs him that he has lost his vote at the upcoming tribal council. The note says that sometimes things can be too good to be true. Rob tells him that Jamal’s lesson is sabotage. He is then handed a blank sheet of parchment and a pencil. He can use both items however he sees fit.
Jamal returns to camp, and he tells the entire tribe he played a game to win an advantage. However, he claims he had to give it to someone else. He hands the wrapped parchment to Dean since today is Dean’s birthday. Jamal says it’s a Legacy Advantage. However, Dean has his doubts due to Jamal writing out the advantage himself. Dean doesn’t think it was an olive branch like Jamal claimed. He thinks Jamal wants to put a target on his back. He also believes the advantage could be fake.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. It’s an endurance challenge that requires them to hold onto a rope. Their hands will be behind their backs as they are forced to lean forward. They must hold on without falling into the water. As the challenge progresses, Jeff will crank a wheel every five minutes. This will force them to lean even more forward. The last man and last woman standing will win immunity. The challenge begins, and Lauren and Dan are the first two to drop. They are followed by Jamal and Elaine. Jeff cranks the wheel again, and Karishma, Elaine, and Dean are the next three to fall. After ten minutes pass, Noura is the next one to fall. Tommy is the next to fall, meaning Aaron is the first to win immunity! Aaron drops as it’s a showdown between Elizabeth and Missy for the second immunity. Elizabeth drops. Missy wins immunity!
The tribe returns to camp after the immunity challenge. Janet and Jamal want to talk game as they fear the two of them, Noura, and Karishma are on the outs. Janet suspects they will split the vote, and she is correct. The majority that voted out Kellee agree to split the votes between Jamal and Karishma. Janet approaches Tommy to ask if she is in danger tonight. Tommy tells her that she is not in danger. However, Janet is still concerned and will bring her hidden immunity idol to tribal council tonight.
It’s time for tribal council. Jeff asks what was the reaction after the previous tribal council, and Noura says there were a lot of upset people. She admits she was shocked Kellee was voted out. Janet adds that there was a lot of miscommunication. She says she made a decision based on her moral character. Jeff asks what happened, and Aaron names everyone who voted for Kellee and everyone who voted for Dan. Janet says people expressed a concern about Dan, but Missy interrupts her and says Janet brought Missy’s name up. Janet says she did initially mention Missy’s name, but she changed her mind after what the women were saying about Dan. Aaron gets fired up and he says that Janet is now trying to play a victim due to her game going badly. Aaron says if Dan’s behavior was an issue, then everyone would’ve known about it. Jamal shuts Aaron down. He says that just because they didn’t know about Dan’s behavior, it doesn’t mean that Dan wasn’t behaving inappropriately. Aaron says he also wants to look at it from Dan’s perspective, but he’s sensitive about women’s feelings too. Jeff asks Dan’s thoughts, and he asks whether or not they will let all of this go. Dan doesn’t want to be part of anything that makes someone feel bad. Jeff asks Karishma her thoughts, and she doesn’t think Janet was spinning anything. She thinks it was how Janet perceived the situation. Jamal says the issue can’t be ignored and it’s bigger than the game of Survivor. He says it will behoove men to take a step back and observe their behavior. Jeff asks Dan if there is any moment he can recall that may have caused this, and Dan is clearly uncomfortable. He wants to let it go, but Jeff says he will never let it go. Dan says he is horrified if this is how he is perceived, and he apologizes to Kellee. He claims he is one of the kindest and most gentlest people he knows. Jeff asks Janet her thoughts, and she says she is wondering whether or not she should stay in the game. She is crying, and she says she feels hated by her fellow tribe members. They tell her she did nothing wrong and shouldn’t feel this way. Jeff summarizes the discussion, and he believes everything that was said about Dan could be true. However, Survivor is complicated, and the gameplay could take importance before real life. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Before Jeff reads the vote, Janet plays her hidden immunity idol on herself.
The first vote is for…
Janet
Janet
Karishma
Karishma
Karishma
Jamal
Jamal
Jamal
Jamal
Jamal
Jamal is voted out and the third member of the jury.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, post your thoughts in the comment section below, and come back next week for another live recap.
